From the Library

Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader

by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith
originally printed in the March/April 2001 issue of The Horn Book Magazine

1. NEVER READ where your children can see you.

2. PUT A TV or COMPUTER in every room. Don't neglect the bedrooms and kitchen.

3. CORRECT YOUR CHILD every time she mispronounces a word.

4. SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES every day after school so your child will never be bored.

5. Once your child can read independently, THROW OUT the PICTURE BOOKS. They're for babies.

6. DON'T PLAY board games together. Too Dull.

7. Give little REWARDS for reading. STICKERS and plastic toys are nice. MONEY is even better.

8. Don't expect your children to enjoy reading. Kids' books are for TEACHING vocabulary, proper study habits, and good morals.

9. Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps.

10. Under NO circumstances read your child the same book OVER and OVER. She heard it once, she should remember it.

11. Never allow your child to listen to BOOKS ON TAPE; that's cheating.

12. Make sure your kids only read books that are "challenging". EASY books are a complete WASTE OF TIME. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.

13. Absolutely, positively NO READING IN BED.

Art: Masks

Fifth grade finished up their masks with accessories like glitter, feathers, pom-poms and wire mesh.  These tactile choices make all the difference to communicating the character of their masks.  Their masks express both who they are and who they are not. Ask your daughter what some of the colors, patterns, or textures mean to her.  

Science: The Chesapeake Bay

The staff from the Outreach Division of the National Aquarium in Baltimore visited the 5th grade to make a presentation on the Chesapeake Bay. "Captain Abby" spoke about the life of a water woman on the Bay. She captivated the girls with her tales, including a wealth of information on the Bay and how this important body of water has changed over the years.

Several of our girls made guest appearances as water women, a crab, and an oyster.

After the presentation, the girls had the opportunity to do hands-on activities at various lab stations set up around the room. We are very grateful to the parents who operated the lab stations as well as to the many additional parents who graciously volunteered to help. 

News From Up The Hill

It's hard to believe that December is already here!  In the fifth grade, we have been busy with all sorts of activities and projects.

19 Days of Gratitude Challenge
A few weeks ago, the fifth grade met to plan out a 19 Days of Gratitude Challenge.  Each girl was paired with a student from the other homeroom, and their mission was to create a simple activity to show gratitude that all of us can manage in the course of a day.    Over the past ten school days, one activity has been posted per day, and the girls have been encouraged to follow it.  Some ideas were:
--Ask a family member how their day was, and really listen to their answer.
--Thank someone who drives you to school or to an after school activity.
--Go outside and take a deep breath of the clean air.   
It has been a fun activity for us all, and we hope that the girls are seeing the value of showing and feeling gratitude in their lives. 

Holiday Community Service Activity
As you know, we are presently collecting small, travel-sized toiletries for our annual holiday project.   On Thursday, December 18, the girls will gather to pack and wrap boxes of collected toiletries.  These boxes will be taken to Baltimore Outreach Service and Eastside Family Shelter where adults and families who are displaced from their home or going through some type of change will receive these.  Every year, it is such a positive experience that is really enjoyed by the girls.  It is not too late to send in items!  We will be collecting them until Wednesday, the 17th. 

Hitting the Books....

Reading: 
The girls are presently reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.  This book that opens with the sentence, "Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty" is full of suspense and has kept the girls predicting, making connections and looking for clues.   Both the readings and the class discussions have been, at times, riveting as this book stirs up the emotions.  The vocabulary in this book is challenging, but the girls have done a great job with the words that we have focused on in our vocabulary units.  Their posters, presentations and learning of the words, many of which ironically repeat several times throughout the book, really show the girls are developing a stronger vocabulary.  We will be finishing the book in the next week. 

Math:
Fractions have been the key concept in math for November and December!  By the end of the unit, the girls will know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide,  and compare all types of fractions.  This unit, an important one in fifth grade, is going very well, and the girls' depth of understanding is expanding every day.

History:
The girls completed our Native American unit with amazing diorama projects.  We are now examining the many reasons as to why explorers left their European homelands to embark on the exploration of the world, particularly to North America.  Towards the end of the month and into January, we will be completing a special project on explorers at school.  Stay tuned for details on this project.  

This fall has been a productive and happy one in the fifth grade, and we look forward to an equally positive winter.  We wish you all a happy,  safe and healthy holiday season this December.  

Katherine and Jeannie



 

Code Talk

The fifth grade students have been working very hard in Scratch.

 They have started an All About Me project and learned a variety of skills like making a sprite glide, change color, dance, follow the mouse, say something, move to a beat, move with key moves, and whirl.  We will continue our work in coding by participating in the Hour of Code in December.

News From the Top of the Hill

The time is flying!  We are already in October and finishing up our first class book, Our Only May Amelia, before conferences take place next week.  Jennifer Holm is the author of this wonderful book that has made the girls laugh as well as cry!  Some other titles that you and your daughter might enjoy reading are the sequel, The Trouble With May Amelia, as well as some of Jennifer Holm's other terrific books:

Boston Jane, historical fiction about a spunky young girl who travels from the east coast to the west coast for a husband....or not! (a series of three books - all wonderful)
The Fourteenth Goldfish, her newest book that examines science and scientific discoveries with a great sense of humor and adventure
Penny From Heaven and Turtle in Paradise, two books with young female main characters who have stories based on Jenni Holm's own family history (as is Our Only May Amelia)
Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf and the Baby Mouse series, graphic novels that the girls really enjoy

Speaking of reading, here is an informative graphic that supports the 20 minutes of reading we ask fifth grade girls to do each night:

 You can see what a difference those 20 minutes of nightly reading can make!

 In math, we are wrapping up our unit on division and soon will be moving on to exploring graphs and data.  With the Orioles doing so well, it's a perfect time to talk about batting averages!  The unit begins with a lesson on mean, median, and mode.

We are also creating our own countries after completing a unit on maps and geography.  Your girls are a very creative bunch; ask them about this project!

We enjoyed celebrating Founders' Day today and look forward to seeing the many creative Spirit Day outfits on Tuesday!  Happy October!

Art: Identity

The year-long theme in fifth grade art is IDENTITY.  This is fitting because they are increasingly complicated, social beings with greater introspective abilities. They will make art, talk about art, and look at art that explores and expresses this theme throughout the year.  The girls wrote on post-its their own definitions of identity and have started discussions in their fifth grade art Edmodo group.  It will be a fun year getting to know them and watching them get to know each other and themselves better! 

Art: Masks

The girls will step out of their comfort zones and into new forms by making masks.  Be ready to be fooled though: Often times being something we are not reveals who we really are.  

First, they learned to use plaster gauze and then used the material to make a mask on their partners. The girls were intentionally partnered with someone they don't know well.  They got to know each other quickly with this up close and hands-on exercise! 

The fifth grade just completed a field hockey unit in PE.  The girls learned stick skills, two kinds of dribbling, three types of passes and ways to shoot on goal.  Benefits of the unit include spatial awareness, body control, hand eye coordination. and teamwork.  Plus, we were able to be outside on the turf on an out of uniform day!  Go Orioles!

Music: Jamaican Folk Song

"4 White Horses" is a traditional Jamaican folk song with an advanced hand-clapping pattern.  Just imagine the level of concentration it takes to pull this off!

Tech Time

During technology, the girls have been focusing on keyboarding skills.  We are using www.typingweb.com and have completed the home and top rows.  This week, we used iBooks and learned about Digital Citizenship.  We created a class motto and posted it on the 5th grade Edmodo page!  In the next few weeks we will continue practicing keyboarding, work in Google Drive, and Gmail.

Science: The Bryn Mawr Ecosystem

When the 5th grade students returned to school this fall, they were able to see the beautiful blossoms in the perennial garden they had planned and planted when they were in the 3rd grade. The garden is located on the hill beside the Science Center and has been attracting butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, as the girls had hoped. How nice it is to have it as part of the Bryn Mawr campus!

In fact, our first unit in science focuses on the Bryn Mawr ecosystem. Every 5th grade student is keeping a nature journal which contains her written and drawn observations of some of the living things on our campus. In this photo, the girls are hard at work recording information about one of the Lower School trees. After they made their observations, each one examined the leaves and other characteristics in order to try to identify her tree.

Technology

The 5th graders have been working hard during technology class.  We have learned about Netiquette, acceptable use, and how to use our Google mail accounts.  We are now beginning to learn the basics of keyboarding, through the use of TypingWeb. 
  

Art: We are all artists!

Every student started the year by making a small 3x3 inch self-portrait. There are quite a few inherent challenges using small paper and black pen that helps the girls get comfortable right way with the art quip: "Turn your ut-oh into an ah-ha."  The girls were encouraged to make a clear choice in their work; to be bold. The works are on display at the entrance of the art studio with the following questions to guide their observations: Which portraits show that the artist used line variation? Which portraits show that the artist made a discovery about herself, her art, or her materials? Which portraits show that the artist tried the blind contour technique to record her observations without looking? Which portraits show that the artist made a clear choice about line, shape texture, value, or space) in her work? In art this year we will make art, look at art and talk about art! We are all artists! 

Up the Hill to the Fifth Grade We Go!

We are off to a great start in the fifth grade!  The girls have been very enthusiastic and eager to do their jobs and be the leaders of the Lower School.  They warmly welcomed nine new girls and have been very inclusive as a class. 

Language Arts: 
We have begun reading Our Only May Amelia in class and working with the vocabulary in the book.  The girls have enjoyed making posters illustrating a word.

 Summary of Our Only May Amelia
It isn′t easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899, but it′s particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can′t seem to abide her family′s insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. She′s sure she could do better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama′s going to have a baby, maybe there′s hope.
Inspired by the diaries of her great-aunt, the real May Amelia, first-time novelist Jennifer Holm has given us a beautifully crafted tale of one young girl whose unique spirit captures the courage, humor, passion and depth of the American pioneer experience.
∗Newbery Honor Book (USA), 2000
borrowed from www.amazon.com
  
Math:  
Each girl has been placed in one of three math groups taught by Mrs. Emala, Miss Burr or Ms. Gilbert.  We started the year with a review of place value, rounding, problem  solving, multiplication and division of larger numbers. 

Other Announcements:

*The girls have enjoyed using sidewalk chalk at recess time.  If anyone would kindly like to donate any boxes/containers of chalk, I can guarantee you that they will be used!  

* As the weather gets cooler, your daughter will need a Bryn Mawr sweatshirt for school.  You can purchase one in the Bryn Mawrket if your daughter doesn't have one.

From the Library

Summer Reading has been posted. https://www.brynmawrschool.org/library-ls-summer-reading-landing. It is available on the Bryn Mawr School website under Lower School, Peggy Bessent Library. We have read a few chapters of Flora and Ulysses in library to get a start. We've had fun reviewing many of the books we've read together this year, identifying quotes: "It's luscious, it's super, it's mushious, it's duper, it's better than rotten old fish. You mash it and munch it, You chew it and crunch it! It's lovely to hear it go squish!" (The Enormous Crocodile) and details: In which book is a white cat taken care of  by Avi in the Jewish Quarter and by Hamudi in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem? (Snow in Jerusalem)
Have fun reading this summer!

French: Marc et Sylvie - Le Projet

Creativity is abound in French class as the girls work on their final project. In pairs, they are writing new Marc et Sylvie stories. The Garnier family is adopting new pets, visiting the United States, and even briefly losing their baby daughter, to name a few of the ideas I've read so far. After finishing their stories, they use them to create a product of their choice. Comic strips, movies, and skits are currently in the works. It is a scene of organized chaos (see below pictures) in the French room as girls use props and move furniture each day. They are working hard and I can't wait to see the final results.

 

Paper Doll Bulletin Board

This photo shows you the colorful bulletin board in the Elementary Center featuring all of the fourth-graders' paper dolls.  Each figure represents the traditional dress of a country studied by one of our students.

Science: A Journey in the Space Shuttle

Though the Space Shuttle may not be actively flying now, we have resurrected it for action here at Bryn Mawr. The fourth graders took a simulated journey in the shuttle and found that they were expected to complete many experiments while they were orbiting the earth. Since it costs about $10,000 to send a pound of weight into space, one of their tasks included calculating the savings when dried Tang was taken rather than hydrated Tang. They did many other activities, which included planting seeds using a glove box, testing their skill at landing the shuttle, and choosing a personalized (and well balanced) set of meals for one day using NASA's menu of tasty offerings. Needless to say, the girls made the most of their time away from earth! In the spirit of true astronauts, they worked hard to accomplish their assigned tasks and completed a Mission Sheet showing the results of their efforts.

 Eating a meal in space is easier when the food containers are held in place with velcro.

Using tools with these thick gloves gave us an idea what it would be like to do work outside the space shuttle to repair a satellite or do other jobs.

This glove box was used for planting radish seeds.

It is fun to plan your own meals for your space journey.

French: Monsieur Garnier Joue au Ballon

The girls are almost finished with our Marc et Sylvie reader. In one of our final stories, the family has a picnic on the banks of the river Garonne. Monsieur Garnier clumsily throws a ball into la salade de tomates. This story provided a great context to review food vocabulary and the girls enjoyed acting it out (and getting to jouer au ballon in French class). A picture of one of our dramatic reenactments is included below.

Ms. Strouss's Language Arts

This week, we will begin our next novel, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. For the last few weeks, we prepared ourselves for this unit on World War II. Part of that discussion involved asking the girls what they knew about this war, and surprisingly enough they knew a  fair amount. We set up a timeline of events leading up to and during this critical time in our history. We will be discussing many delicate issues but appropriate for fourth graders. Each student has been asked to read three novels about World War II for her independent reading.

Art: Chinese Landscape Paintings

The girls have been practicing their brush and ink technique and are ready to paint their final landscapes.  They are focused on using value, space, and texture to achieve contrast, movement and balance.  They are painting a setting from a book they read during their China unit.  

Internatinal Bazaar Information

April 14, 2014

 

Dear Fourth Grade Parents:

 

The International Bazaar is an exciting culmination of our study of other countries. Our International Bazaar will be held on Friday, May 16th, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon. The Bazaar will begin with a musical program by the fourth graders for parents, Lower School students, and friends. The Bazaar will then open for all Lower School classes, as well as for students and faculty from the Middle and Upper Schools. One adult must stay with each student to help sell the crafts and food during the course of the morning.  Here is some information you will find helpful in planning:

 

1.  Each girl should make approximately 30 small craft items to sell at her booth that are representative of her country. In the past, appropriate successful projects have been hair ornaments, bookmarks, and small pieces of jewelry.  These items will be sold inexpensively, so materials and time should be taken into consideration. We have shown the girls items that have been made for previous Bazaars, so they should have a clear idea of what is appropriate.

 

2.  During the International Bazaar, each student should dress as if she were going to attend a folk festival in her country.  No one should go to a great deal of trouble or expense.  A simple hat, shawl, cape, long skirt, or fancy blouse will lend a festive appearance.

 

We are very grateful for your assistance and cooperation.  We will send you more information as we approach May 16th!

 

 

                                                                   The Fourth Grade Teachers

                           

                                    

   MAY 16^TH        MAY 16^TH                MAY 16^TH         MAY 16^TH          MAY 16^TH 

From the Library

Fourth graders have been reading favorite stories from many countries including Martina the Beautiful Cockroach (Cuba) - ask your daughter about Abuela's advice to spill coffee on the shoes of a suitor, The Crane Wife (Japan) - what was the wife's secret ?, Martin de Porres, the Rose in the Desert (Peru)- how quickly did the lemon tree grow?, and Uri Shulevitz's How I learned Geography-what did the father bring home for supper instead of bread?
We read Neil Gaiman's newest novel Fortunately, the Milk, in which the father goes out for milk and has a wild story about why it took him so long to get home. The girls then enjoyed reading the melancholy Jane, the Fox  and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault. We then read The Bathing Costume, another story by an author with a French name, Charlotte Moundlic, in which a character fusses about a swimsuit. We squeezed in a quick scavenger hunt in which one clue card led to the next. It was a fun way to remind ourselves of what's where in the library and to review call numbers and spine tag information. Ask your daughter about "PB", "SC" and "ICR" books.

Math: Geometric Transformations

After working through a unit on symmetry and transformations, the students used patterned paper to demonstrate their knowledge of reflections, rotations, and transitions.  The results are beautiful AND mathematical!

French: La Météo

Recently, we have been discussing weather vocabulary and using it to describe our rather erratic weather here in Baltimore (can it be le printemps yet?!). After reviewing key phrases, the girls were given the task of creating an imaginary weather report (la météo) using the app Tellagami. The girls first wrote scripts in which they greeted their audience and identified the date, season, and, of course, the weather. They then created characters and backgrounds in the app and recorded themselves to give each of their meteorologists a voice. We had some great and very creative results!

News Tomorrow!

Fourth-graders will receive their country assignments tomorrow, Friday, during the day.  Ms. Strouss and I will hand each girl a colorful certificate with a country name written on it.  We will open them all at once!  You can imagine that this cheering is heard throughout the Lower School.  We know from experience that every country becomes important to the student studying it and we are looking forward  to this event. When we return from spring break, we will start sharing important information about all aspects of the Bazaar. 

Please make sure that your calendar is marked for the morning of May 16th, a Friday. 

Country Choices by Homeroom

The lists below include all of the countries available for study in both homerooms.  We encourage students to review all of the choices before making their final selection Wednesday afternoon.  Each student will select seven out of the fifteen choices available. Students will receive their country assignments on Friday, and we hope to give each of them a selection from their top 50%.  We will do all of the research for the country reports in class.  At home, students will make about 35 craft items and a food dish that represents her country.  After spring break, we will begin to send home information to help you get ready for this exciting event.

Please check your calendars to make sure that an adult will be available during the morning of May 16th until noon.  Parents can start setting up their tables at 7:15 until 8:15; a musical performance follows until 9:00 AM, when the Bazaar opens for business.

KELLER HOMEROOM:

Africa: Ethiopia, Madagascar, Senegal
Asia: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar/Burma, Vietnam
Central/South America: Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru
Europe: Italy, Poland, Russia
Oceania: New Zealand

STROUSS HOMEROOM:

Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria
Asia: Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey
North/South America: Bolivia, Chile, Mexico
Europe: Germany, Greece, Spain
Middle East: Saudi Arabia
Oceania: Australia

COUNTRIES! COUNTRIES! COUNTRIES!

Today, Monday, both classes found out what countries are available this year for the International Bazaar.  We ask that each student select seven places she would like to study.  Of those seven, one must be from Africa or South America.  The remaining five should be divided up between countries in Asia or Europe with no more than two countries per continent.  Please encourage your daughter to review the homeroom lists and think carefully about her choices--everyone wrote down these choices during the school day. We do our best to give each girl one of those locations for "her country."
Stay tuned tomorrow for complete homeroom lists.

Language Arts: China

Fourth grade has arrived virtually in China. In language arts we are reading the novel Homesick which is a memoir of the author, Jean Fritz, and her early years growing up in China. She lived in China during a very tumultuous time as the country was involved in a revolution. This troubling time in China lends itself to discussing China's history.  Two of our important persons' reports were on Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek which helped to introduce these two key players at this time in history. Many themes run  throughout this novel such as "being good,"  personal identity,  prejudice and of course, the wonderful introduction into the Chinese culture.

Asia Map Test

Fourth-graders are now experts in African, South American, and Asian geography.  Do you know where all the "...stan" countries are in Central Asia? Ask your daughter to show you her practice maps. 

French: Secret Identity Survey

This week in French class, I said "au revoir" to our Bryn Mawr girls as they each assumed a new, top secret identity. The identities ranged from Dorothy Gale to Harry Styles to Marc Garnier (a character from the stories we are reading). In order to figure out their classmates' secret identities, the girls surveyed each other, asking and answering questions all in French. However, they were not allowed to ask "Comment t'appelles-tu?" because that would just be too easy! This activity reviewed key phrases that will be covered on next Wednesday's test.

Science: Making Books and Creating Circuits

After learning about electricity, the girls put their knowledge to work by creating their own original "textbooks" to explain what they learned.  Using the iPad app, "BookCreator," each student chose  to insert original drawings or photographs, original video or audio, and/or pictures from the Internet as illustrations.  Their books were interesting and informative.

Working in groups, the girls were then challenged to create their own circuits using materials in their "Snap Circuit" kits.  They took pictures of their circuits and explained them by making a poster in the iPad app, PicCollage.

A Stitch in Time

The girls are mastering their sewing techniques and adding to their stitch repertoire.  Their molas are almost complete with the details of their embroidery stitchery.  Some of the most popular stitches are the French knot, the stem stitch, the blanket stitch, the chain stitch and the satin stitch.  Some girls have even invented their own stitches.